"To collect all the debris from last year's big winter storm in October pushed us back a while," Maybury said. "We'd like to get everything cleaned up by around mid-December, before the winter weather hits us."
Following Hurricane Sandy, many residents were left with broken branches and even fallen trees in their yards and along their streets. The debris added to the task of picking up leaves this fall. Maybury said that it is the town highway department's goal to clean up all the debris from streets throughout Mount Pleasant as best as they can before it could be covered in snow and difficult, or impossible, to remove.
"They'll be working extended hours," Maybury said of the highway department. Highway workers will now be working on Saturdays as well.
For residents looking to get rid of their leaves before winter, a Pleasantville group may have an easy solution before temperatures gets too cold. Pleasantville Recycles, a citizens group that advocates recycling throughout the community, is encouraging residents to mulch their leaves rather than remove them. Mulching can be done fairly easily by running over the leaves with a standard lawn mower and either collecting them in a bag attached to the mower or leaving them in the yard as is.
Fiona Mitchell, a spokesperson for the initiative, pitched the mulching idea at a Pleasantville Village Board of Trustees meeting late last month from a cost-saving standpoint for the town and village.
"We believe it’s better for our homes and gardens, the environment and it costs significantly less than having the leaves removed,” Mitchell said.
For information about leaf mulching, residents can visit the Pleasantville Recycles website. For questions on storm debris removal, residents can call the Mount Pleasant Highway Department at 914-769-1045.
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